Morality of snipers

[Aurelio]

Yo, RLT!

My mistake, and for the record, while always respecting all you all tankers, I must as an ex 0351, '11, '31, '41 – duly confess that that bad 'ole Green Eyed Monster of Envy never had a chance with me when I’d see you guys cruising by going on now 40 years ago…

Believe you me I’ve seen what enemy anti-tank operations can do.

As a matter of fact, that’s what did in Carlos H., career-wise, although he was in – I guess – an APC

Semper Fi

Aurelio:thumbsup:

 

[Brendan]

Actually RLT are my initials…
I was in 2nd Tank Bn.

Cool, I was Armored Cav

Which brings up a question. What would the moral difference between an Abrahms knocking out a T-72 at 4km vs a sniper taking out an enemy officer at 500m

In both cases, the target never sees it coming.

 

[Hastrman]

Cool, I was Armored Cav

Which brings up a question. What would the moral difference between an Abrahms knocking out a T-72 at 4km vs a sniper taking out an enemy officer at 500m

In both cases, the target never sees it coming.

Well, it might deny him a chance to ready his soul for death, but I imagine smart soldiers take care of that long in advance.

 

[Aurelio]

Good point, Brendan!

In my high school years back in the Stone Age, I was reading some Sir Walter Scott novel about the days of kid Galahad and all those guys.

In one scene the “good guys” are winding up some really wild contraption that sounded like it was based on the mother in law of all rubber bands.

The “kid” loads an arrow, uses Kentucky windage, and lets fly.

Result? “An enemy chieftain was struck down a quarter mile away.”

Same thing in the Japanese movie, Kagemusha.

The sniper knows his night shot just had to have hit the target (it did!) but has an uphill battle proving it.

I guess Jesus Christ says it best: we all have to prepared, and at all times, to meet our Maker.

Doesn’t matter if it’s a sniper’s bullet, or the point of no return while at the business end of a morphine drip.

See you …

Aurelio:thumbsup:

 

[cristian84]

I am in the military although I am no sniper. But I will give you my thought on it. All who join the Armed Forces are aware that in some moment thet may be call to defend themselves or thier fellow troops and this may result in the taking of a life.

We are all responsible before God and God alone. If we take someone’s life we must answer for it plan and simple no ands if’s or but’s.God is a just judge and will judge us rightly, however we can never say to God I did this because I was ordered to, we are ultimantly responsible for our actions and will stand alone before God at our individual judgement and our Chain of Command will not be there to back us up.

My fellow service members are heros, and in some cases face hard moral decisions, but I pray for them that God will give them the strenght required to make the correct choice.
We must for be a solider of the LORD first!

 

[Steven_Merten]

I am in the military although I am no sniper. But I will give you my thought on it. All who join the Armed Forces are aware that in some moment thet may be call to defend themselves or thier fellow troops and this may result in the taking of a life.

We are all responsible before God and God alone. If we take someone’s life we must answer for it plan and simple no ands if’s or but’s.God is a just judge and will judge us rightly, however we can never say to God I did this because I was ordered to, we are ultimantly responsible for our actions and will stand alone before God at our individual judgement and our Chain of Command will not be there to back us up.

My fellow service members are heros, and in some cases face hard moral decisions, but I pray for them that God will give them the strenght required to make the correct choice.
We must for be a solider of the LORD first!

Hello Christian84,

I thank you for your service to our country in the United States armed forces.

I have a little problem understanding your concept that all soldiers in combat are only there killing to protect thier fellow soldier from being killed.

On D-day Allied forces sent hundreds of thousands of troops, many to their deaths, to the beaches of France. I hardly think the overall concept was that these troops needed to be there to kill to protect their fellow soldier who also was also hitting the beaches under German fire, at the same time. Why did they not hit the beaches of Australia on D-day? Then there would be no need for soilders to kill to protect thier fellow soldiers. I am thinking their objective was to take France and then Germany to defeat the evil wickedness of Hitler and protect the world from Hitler’s atrocities. I think this was a good objective.

I have heard homilies that it is ok for solidiers to kill because they are killing in self defense and to defend their fellow soldiers. Was it ok for German and Italian soldiers to kill to protect their fellow soldiers when in doing so they promoted the attrocities and world dominace of evil wicked Hitler through their doing so?

The Church seems to teach that it was not mortal sin or intrinsic evil for a German or Italian soldier to kill in Hitler’s evil wicked unjust war. Now we seem to be discussing whether or not it is evil for an Allied soldier to kill to defeat the attrocities of Hitlers evil unjust war. Should soldiers only kill when one of their fellow soldiers, or themselves, are in danger of being killed? I watched Enemy at the Gates a movie about a Russian sniper in WWII. I think what he did was a good and moral thing. He did more that kill to protect his fellow troops. He killed, as a sniper, to stop the German invasion of Russia and protect the Russian people from Hitler’s wicked attrocities.

What do you think about killing to protect the world from evil wicked atrocities of a guy like Hitler rather than troops just killing to protect themselves or their fellow soldiers in combat?

 

[Durendin]

What do you think about killing to protect the world from evil wicked atrocities of a guy like Hitler rather than troops just killing to protect themselves or their fellow soldiers in combat?

A valid point.

Now you know why the Waffen SS were treated with contempt and the Wehrmacht were respected by allied troops.

 

[Aurelio]

Hello, Durendin!

That’s a valid point, distinguishing between SS and Wehrmacht combat troops.

One of our most prestigious senior faculty members was a Polish teenage combat commander during the Warsaw Uprising – I guess in 1944 – and he told one of our student press reporters a couple of years back how it was a Wehrmacht soldier that deliberately spared his life.

Also, anybody out there who can confirm this next story?

I’ve read somewhere, that supposedly the Wehrmacht summarily tried and then shot to death some senior SS Commander for atrocities committed by his troops in this same affair.

Likewise, Lt. Col. Hebert(sp?) tells of how during his time in Vietnam the NVA/PAVN didn’t hesitate to execute their own when they went too far with US troops.

Aurelio:thumbsup:

 

[RLT]

When a warrior states that they “are only there killing to protect thier fellow soldier from being killed” he means is that when the bullets start flying all politics go out the window…your concern is keeping you and your buddies alive, which means accomplishing the given mission as quickly and smoothly as possible.
This unfortunately will require the taking of lives and collateral damage and in this instance it’s either you or the opposition.